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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · hand · bulb · band · field · degree · bay · fork

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. band — a music group
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. field — farmland
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. band — a ring
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. hand — help
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bulb — for light
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fork — in a road
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. field — a subject
  23. foot — a measure
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com